Penny & The Quarters :: You And Me

I caught Blue Valentine last week at the Vista Theatre here in LA. It was both incredible and brutal. A gut wrenching film of the highest order, I have no urge to see it again any time soon. Sometimes art can be like that. To give you an idea of the tone, a friend eloquently summed it up as a “horror movie for those in relationships,” which I would say is about right.

The film’s sonic palette is mostly scored by the Grizzly Bear gang using previously released material, instrumentals and “In Ear Park,”—the title cut from Daniel Rossen’s latest Dept. of Eagles project. Thankfully, there is some levity amongst the brooding in the form of an unexpected treat—the use of Penny & The Quarters “You And Me” culled from Numero Group’s Eccentric Soul series: the Prix Label. Hearing the track (a standout of the compilation) in the context of the film felt like a life raft, a calm amongst the storm—or at the very least, a note from an old friend.

Dig on Penny below, and if you’ve seen the film hit us up in the comments with your thoughts/impressions.

9 thoughts on “Penny & The Quarters :: You And Me

  1. Incredible yet brutal is exactly how I’ve been describing this film. I saw it with two friends and it was determined a bottle of wine was in order immediately after, to try and sort out our thoughts. We didn’t start discussing right away though. We all needed some time first to catch our breath, as all three of us had visceral reactions to the film. That said, all three of us came at it with entirely different perspectives and the most gut-wrenching scenes for me, weren’t all the same for my friends. But suffice it to say, there were moments that hit a little too close to home for all of us. Brutality permeates this film.Yet we all agreed we were glad we’d seen it. I can’t get over how well the actors played these roles. Superb. Oscar worthy. Spot on. Still, a hard film to recommend, unless you get a perverse pleasure out of watching a relationship disintegrate. Aww hell though, go see it!

  2. I saw the film tonight and man… everything that’s been said so far here I’d have to agree with. I loved it but I don’t think I will be seeing it again for a while. It’s heavy stuff to take in and experience. That said, I think the Grizzly Bear music really added to the film and I loved hearing it in that setting. I’m looking forward to getting the soundtrack when in comes out in a week or two.

  3. I felt like I was watching scenes from my own relationships. It was a really funny and heartbreaking movie, but I wouldn’t call it brutal. The ending seemed appropriately ambiguous, if not entirely hopeful. I laughed, I cried, then I recommended it to everyone I know.

    Also, I bought the Dead Man’s Bones album (really loving it) after seeing Blue Valentine, but I forgot about this track. Thanks for the post and great write-up.

  4. A highly overrated movie. Where’s the part that shows the decline of the relationship? It would have given some meaning to the ending of their marriage. Good performances, but Williams needs to do a comedy, it’s time she played a happy character again.

  5. sweet lord. just saw the film and had to stop before i left the building to also collect my thoughts. yeah, the song used twice was amazing, and really embodies the joy and buoyancy they felt early in their relationship. which of course isn’t at all where they are the first time the song’s played. just a devastating film, and i loved the hell out of it. i know it’s definitely not for everyone – so considerate of the MPAA to try to take that decision out our hands by, insanely, initially branding it as NC-17 – but i’m gonna highly recommend the film to my friends who wouldn’t have their week ruined by seeing it.
    thanks a lot for posting the track. i have just a couple of numero’s ‘eccentric soul’ comps; looks like i have another to add to my list with the prix label.

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